Review: The Distance Between Us – Kasie West

Posted 13 August, 2015 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 21 Comments

Review: The Distance Between Us – Kasie WestThe Distance Between Us by Kasie West
Published by Harper Teen on 2 July 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 312
Format: eBook
Source: RT15
|
4 Stars

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

The Distance Between Us was a nice surprise, with Xander and Caymen from different sides of the track, and Caymen having heard her whole life that she should stay far, far away from rich boys, the relationship and the uncovering of secrets kept me invested in the story from start to finish.

My The Distance Between Us review:

When I picked up The Distance Between Us, I thought I would get a fluffy romance with young characters, and in a way, I did get that, but I got much more as well! Caymen had been working her whole life to get good grades, and helping her mom in the doll-shop after school. Brilliant in science, Caymen definitely wanted more in life, though. And she really wanted to get far away from the doll-shop with the glass dolls she found horrific. When Xander stopped by to pick up a doll for his grand-mother’s birthday, Caymen understood exactly what her mom meant when she warned her about the rich boys, the entitled and slightly arrogant boys. When he came back a few days later to pick up a doll his grand-ma had ordered, though, and Caymen realized that he was one of her favorite client’s grand-son, she did see him in a slightly different light.

As Caymen and Xander continued to meet each other, sometimes by chance, and other times because they had planned it – they both got to really know each other. However, Caymen stayed a little detached, afraid her mother was indeed right about how rich people treated those with much less worldly possessions. At the same time, Caymen also felt the need to find out more about her family, as it had always been only her mother and herself. Helping each other figure out what they wanted to do when they grew up, Caymen and Xander were pretty inventive when they thought up internships (all made up!) the other could do, to find out if this or that profession might be for the other or not. The Distance Between Us was about the social distance that was there between the two main characters, but also the distance people but between themselves and others in order to protect themselves.

Between the friendships Caymen has with her new and old friends, her relationship with her mom, and her new friendship with Xander, Caymen starts to question things much more than she had before. Xander seems very different from the image she had in her head of a ‘rich guy’. And he was nice to her friends, even as they were not wearing anything designer, and didn’t always have enough money for food. Little by little she also wanted to look into some of the things her mother had told her about the past, especially when it came to her father. Suddenly, she got many more answers than she had anticipated, and her life got pretty much turned upside down…

Written in present tense, first person point of view from Caymen’s perspective, The Distance Between Us is a very good story that shows us that all is not what it seems, and that actually getting to know someone before passing judgement is very important. The dialogues were well done, and I enjoyed getting to know Caymen and Xander so much I wish there would be another story about the two of them.

Some of my favorite The Distance Between Us quotes:

“Okay.” I glance toward the front door to make sure no one is coming and then go out back and grab the rest of the groceries. When I take them upstairs I step over the bas she dropped off right inside the door and then set mine on the counter of our dollhouse-size kitchen. That’s really the theme of our lives. Dolls. We sell them. We live in their house… or at least the size equivalent: three tiny rooms, on e bathroom, miniature kitchen. And I’m convinced the size is the main reason my mom and I are so close. I peer around the wall and see my mom sprawled out on the couch. 

The kitchen doesn’t like two people in it at once so it constantly shoves counter edges and drawer handles into my hips and lower back. I soon abandon the idea that we can both fit, and I step around the counter to the small dining area.

Two doors down from our doll store is a dance studio, and I’m surprised to see the lights all on this late at night. Wide-open windows on a dark night make everything inside as clear as on a movie screen. There is a girl inside, probably my age, dancing in front of a wall of mirrors. The graceful movements of her body prove she’s been studying for years. I wonder why some people seem to be born knowing what they want to do with their lives and others – mostly me – have no idea.

COYER Scavenger hunt item #36: Read a book with a car on the cover (3 points)

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,077 other subscribers

21 responses to “Review: The Distance Between Us – Kasie West

  1. Yay I loved this. Hell I love all of Kasie West’s books. And these two do make a very tiny appearance in On the Fence – it’s set in the same world.

  2. Isn’t it interesting how preconceived notions affect so much in our lives? Although it seems Cayman’s mother intentionally filled her head with things she might should have been allowed to figure out on her own, I think sometimes we pass on these notions without trying. I’m glad that Cayman was able to get to know Xander and form her own opinions as well as beginning to question other things her mother had told her, even if the latter caused unfortunate consequences. Great review, Lexxie! **BIG HUGS**

  3. I like the sound of this book and how meeting Xander leads Caymen to question her believes eventually. It sounds like a fun fluffy romance, but also with a more serious message. And I am curious about those secrets you mention. Great Review lexxie!

Thanks for commenting - chat soon!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.